Long Island Soil

Well, the dream was well lived. After 11 and a half hours of travel I am back on Long Island soil.

I had the most amazing summer. I got to meet friends that I know will stay a part of my life. It almost feels like it was a movie that I just keep replaying in my head. I can't believe it happened and now it's over. Time moves way too fast. I miss Spain already. But I know I'll return. Don't exactly know when but it will happen.

So my last couple of weeks in Europe were amazing. I went to Los Cahorros, beautiful waterfalls. It was breathtaking. We climbed between the rocks under the falls and stood beneath the freezing cold water as it sprinkled all over us. I spent the weekend in Madrid with three amazing friends. Madrid definitely reminded me a lot of New York City. They even had a Lion King broadway theater. We took a boat ride at Retiro Park and climbed to the top of the post office where we overlooked the whole city of Madrid. It was breathtaking as we stood watching the Spanish flag fly below us. I got to visit the Museo de Prado where I viewed the most incredible pieces of art with a great story behind every piece. I went horseback riding and couldn't walk for the next two days, but as they would say in Spain, "Vale la pena!" It was worth it.

The last weekend in Europe my friends took a flight to Ireland and spent the weekend in Dublin. I have nothing but amazing things to say about the people, the culture, the whole city! I got to tour so much of Dublin. I fell in love with Dublin Castle. Imagining my life as a royal for an hour was good enough for me. At night my friends and I sat at a pub and listened to live music. The whole weekend was perfect! I can't even explain how down to earth and nice these people were. It was unreal. It would make you want to move there just because they were so welcoming. We also got so lucky — it was the hottest/nicest weekend they had seen in Dublin since 2005. CRAZY! What are the chances of that.

Granted all the other cities I saw were amazing and unique in their own ways, but nothing was like my second home in Granada. Granada is a bucket-list type of city. I feel like the luckiest person to have been able to have this experience. I spent my last night in Granada with my roommate and our host parents. They made us this beautiful feast for dinner. We sat in the dining room since it was a special occasion. We sat and talked for hours. Then my roommate and I went out with our friends for our last hooray in the amazing city of Granada. Saying goodnight was especially hard because I knew in the morning we would all be departing our separate ways for our hometowns in the U.S. Of course without fail I felt like my heart was breaking. I wanted to see my friends and family at home but I didn't want to leave my family and friends in Spain. It was a very bitter sweet moment. Now all I have are memories to remind me of my adventure.

Eight weeks is all it took for me to fall in love with the city, make lifelong friends, improve my Spanish and indulge in the adventure of my life! I will hold these memories forever. Now it's back to reality. I am back in New York and back to my old routine. But the adventure is far from over. It's just a different type of adventure now. I call it Junior Year at Wagner! I am quickly approaching move-in with all my best friends. Going to soak up some oval days before the bitter New York winter approaches. So time to turn the page to the next chapter of my life. Until my next adventure abroad, Adios!